East African leaders adopted a regional emergency response plan in Arusha to prepare for severe El Niño weather expected to persist through February 2027, countering earlier expectations of isolated national actions.
Ministers Approve Response Plan
Meeting at an extraordinary session on November 6, sectoral ministers approved the East African Community framework to coordinate disaster management across member states, Africa reported.
Rebecca Kadaga chaired the extraordinary ministerial meeting, according to reports. During the Extraordinary Meeting of the Joint Sectoral Council on Cooperation in Defence Affairs, Interstate Security and Foreign Policy Coordination Ministerial Session held on November 6, 2026, in Arusha, Tanzania, the Plan received formal adoption.
Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, who chairs the EAC Council of Ministers, led the proceedings in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha, where the EAC headquarters issued a formal statement on Monday.
This meeting is not routine; it is urgent,
Rebecca Kadaga, Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers
Ministers warned that individual nations cannot manage transboundary weather shocks alone. The EAC brings together eight countries to align logistics and relief operations, namely Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Uganda’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Ephraim Kamuntu, also participated in the discussions and warned that climate disasters could cause far-reaching economic consequences, pointing out that when the Katonga River previously washed away its crossing, regional traffic was paralyzed.
Forecasters Track Climate Warning
The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre warned that El Niño was firmly established and could reach very strong intensity. According to reports from the Prime Minister’s office, sea surface temperatures had already remained 0.5 degrees Celsius above average as of November 1, 2026.
The science leaves no doubt, El Niño is already here, and there is a near 100% probability that it will persist through February 2027. The question for our region is no longer whether El Niño will come, but how ready we are when the rains peak,
Calistus Wachana of ICPAC
Forecasters warn that heavy rains and subsequent dry spells may disrupt agriculture through the middle of next year.
In Tanzania, the TMA Director General Dr. Ladislaus Chang’a pointed out that predictions released on August 18 and October 23 signaled normal to above-normal precipitation across multiple zones nationwide, matching conditions already unfolding. Precipitation had already begun in the Lake Victoria Zone, encompassing the Mara, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Geita, and Kagera areas.
States Target Vulnerable Zones
Vulnerable areas span the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya’s coastal areas and Tana River, sections of Somalia, the Karamoja-Teso cluster, the western highlands of Burundi and Rwanda, eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
Tanzania’s Deputy Minister Kaspar Mmuya, representing the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office for Policy, Parliament, Coordination and Persons with Disabilities Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi, emphasized the necessity of cooperation during an extraordinary ministerial meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The meeting was also attended by Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Mr. James Millya. The meeting directed the Secretariat to mobilize resources urgently and prepare an implementation plan.
Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for East African Community Affairs, ASALs and Regional Development, Beatrice Askul Moe, announced that her government adopted a coordinated approach led by the National Disaster Operations Centre, identifying 18 priority counties, prepositioning relief supplies, and strengthening monitoring along the Northern Corridor.
Donors Release Funding
International donors have begun releasing capital to support anticipatory action before weather peaks intensify. The European Union mobilized €13.5 million in humanitarian funding across Eastern and Southern Africa, according to EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, with allocations including €6 million for Somalia, €1 million for Kenya, €1 million for Uganda, and €5.5 million for the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region.
Ministers mandated the EAC Secretariat to present a full implementation plan by November 30, 2026.
Will the EAC Secretariat deliver the full implementation plan by November 30, 2026?